Volume II, Number IX: 2008
(Originally published as a series of blog entries)
Dreaming of a White Christmas
THE NORTH POLE (Pacific Northwest Bureau) -- Santa and Mrs. Claus are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, which invites all manner of reflection on the last two decades -- most of which has been documented in the humble little TaylorGram over the years.
This is the second year of blogging the year that was. One of the great things about blogs is that gives you the opportunity to comment on what you see here, which we encourage you to do.
One of the great limitations of a blog is that it enforces a strict reverse chronology on the year-in-review. That limitation is painfully obvious this year when, as you will see as you scroll down, the most significant development of the year took place in late August. In a more traditional format, that news would have appeared more prominently. Or maybe this format reflects life as we live it -- with the important, the trivial, the joyful, the sad, the carefully planned and the random all bumping into each other.
With apologies to Bing Crosby, we were not really dreaming of a white Christmas, but we got one anyway.
This is the second year of blogging the year that was. One of the great things about blogs is that gives you the opportunity to comment on what you see here, which we encourage you to do.
One of the great limitations of a blog is that it enforces a strict reverse chronology on the year-in-review. That limitation is painfully obvious this year when, as you will see as you scroll down, the most significant development of the year took place in late August. In a more traditional format, that news would have appeared more prominently. Or maybe this format reflects life as we live it -- with the important, the trivial, the joyful, the sad, the carefully planned and the random all bumping into each other.
With apologies to Bing Crosby, we were not really dreaming of a white Christmas, but we got one anyway.
Building a Waterfront Retreat: One Shovel at a Time
THE HIGH WATER MARK -- Elaine may rue the day that she told Paul that she worried he didn't have a hobby. She might have been thinking he would take up photography or golf or even neon sign making but he gravitated toward 80-pound concrete blocks. Retaining walls became his art and the backyard became his canvas. Thankfully for all concerned, including the small army of teenagers who have put strong young backs into the process of lugging those bricks around, all but the last of about 3,000 bricks are now in place. A total of nine walls stretch the equivalent of five stories from the lake up the bank to the main floor of the house. A little more shoveling, a little patio and we'll be ready for a summer by the water. It has only been three years in the making.
October Milestones: 20 Years for Us, 50 Years for Big Bro
Dave and Karen, Paul's brother and his wife, extended their west coast winery tour into Washington. The visit created an ideal opportunity to raise a toast to Dave's 50th birthday and our 20th wedding anniversary.
The other part of the anniversary celebration is scheduled for January when we cruise the Mexican Riviera with ports of call in Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta.
The other part of the anniversary celebration is scheduled for January when we cruise the Mexican Riviera with ports of call in Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta.
Repatriating Baby Books
SALMON ARM, BC -- An earlier post introduced Ruth Brooke Peterson, the daughter of the late Canadian artist Arthur A. Brooke and who, at the age of 87, had become a new friend of ours. She died in early August.
She wanted to make sure that her father's paintings, many of which captured mid-twentieth century life in and around Salmon Arm, BC were repatriated to Canada. Ruth's cousin and our friend Lynne Rach took that wish as her mission and set to work.
The collection included seven volumes of water color paintings that documented her childhood, known within the family as the "baby books," and which became a project for us soon after we met Ruth.
The 'baby books' and dozens of other A. A. Brooke paintings have a new permanent home in the archives of the R. J. Haney Heritage Park and Museum. The transfer on September 13, 2008 resulted in a spontaneous family reunion in Salmon Arm, BC. The local paper, the Salmon Arm Observer, reported on the repatriation project. The 'baby books' are also the subject of a sister website to the TaylorGram, where the images have been digitized (and will be annotated) as the Books of Ruth online.
She wanted to make sure that her father's paintings, many of which captured mid-twentieth century life in and around Salmon Arm, BC were repatriated to Canada. Ruth's cousin and our friend Lynne Rach took that wish as her mission and set to work.
The collection included seven volumes of water color paintings that documented her childhood, known within the family as the "baby books," and which became a project for us soon after we met Ruth.
The 'baby books' and dozens of other A. A. Brooke paintings have a new permanent home in the archives of the R. J. Haney Heritage Park and Museum. The transfer on September 13, 2008 resulted in a spontaneous family reunion in Salmon Arm, BC. The local paper, the Salmon Arm Observer, reported on the repatriation project. The 'baby books' are also the subject of a sister website to the TaylorGram, where the images have been digitized (and will be annotated) as the Books of Ruth online.
The Cat Came Back ... But Not Before a Replacement was Found
The cat came back
The very next day the old cat came back
Thought she was a goner, but the cat came back
`Cause she just wouldn't stay away
(Traditional - Harry Miller)
THE BACK YARD -- When Rumples, our 13-year-old house cat, ran away in late August -- and despite the best efforts of friends and neighbors to find her -- we assumed she was a goner. As part of a three week search, Elaine reported the feline runaway to Animal Services where she also became fast friends with a cat that had been left at the shelter's night drop. There were forms to fill out, shots to get and surgery to be performed but, only a few days later, the new cat -- Jennyanydots* -- had been successfully rescued and soon took up residence in our laundry room. No sooner was Jenny settled in than Rumples appeared by the back door. We should have listened more closely to that song.
* Jennyanydots is the fourth cat in the last two decades to be named with a little help from T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, a set of whimsical poems that later became the musical Cats.
The very next day the old cat came back
Thought she was a goner, but the cat came back
`Cause she just wouldn't stay away
(Traditional - Harry Miller)
THE BACK YARD -- When Rumples, our 13-year-old house cat, ran away in late August -- and despite the best efforts of friends and neighbors to find her -- we assumed she was a goner. As part of a three week search, Elaine reported the feline runaway to Animal Services where she also became fast friends with a cat that had been left at the shelter's night drop. There were forms to fill out, shots to get and surgery to be performed but, only a few days later, the new cat -- Jennyanydots* -- had been successfully rescued and soon took up residence in our laundry room. No sooner was Jenny settled in than Rumples appeared by the back door. We should have listened more closely to that song.
* Jennyanydots is the fourth cat in the last two decades to be named with a little help from T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, a set of whimsical poems that later became the musical Cats.
James W. Routledge (1930-2008)
HAMIOTA -- Within a few short weeks of a diagnosis of stomach cancer, Elaine's dad died at the end of August in the Hamiota Hospital. All his kids were at his side when he died. In the days that followed, the outpouring of concern and condolences from neighbors, friends and family testified to a life well lived. Some family friends drove hours to be part of a backyard vigil that ran four consecutive evenings around a bonfire. It was the kind of goodbye that is unique to small towns, and the kind of party Jim would have enjoyed. His obituary is available online, as is this appreciation.
Third Annual Friends, Family and Fireworks Party
FAIR OAKS BEACH -- There goes the neighborhood, again. For the third consecutive year, we hosted a July blow out -- or blow up, if you want to be more literal. Equal parts Canada Day, 4th of July, block party and church picnic, the day included a pop cover band, a brass ensemble, water slides, more food than 80 people could eat, and forty feet of floating fireworks. It is not the kind of thing you pull off by yourselves. We were ably assisted by a handful of professional pyros, two handfuls of professional musicians, a dozen or more friends who helped with set-up and tear down and more than a few patient neighbors.
Mark your calendars: The forth annual shindig is slated for Saturday, July 11, 2009. Consider yourself invited.
Mark your calendars: The forth annual shindig is slated for Saturday, July 11, 2009. Consider yourself invited.
The Taylor Sawatsky Wedding: Nephew Marries
WINNIPEG -- If pictures are still worth a thousand words, these thousand words go a long way in capturing the day and the couple. Graham and Ang are living in a turn-of-the-last-century home on Inkster in Winnipeg while working on degrees in architecture and graphic design respectively.
Carpe Diem: A Life Lesson
(Pictured: Elaine and her dad Jim on July 4, 2008)
HAMIOTA -- Elaine flew back to Manitoba just before Graham and Ang's wedding to help her dad move from the big white house to a retirement apartment just across the street from the regional hospital. It was a one bedroom at the end of single story building, giving Jim three external walls to line with petunias and begonias (which he already had in place by the time Paul arrived a few days later).
By then, Elaine and Jim had gone shopping in Brandon to get fresh housewares for the new digs. There were apartment-sized blinds, utensils, laundry baskets and organizers to get. Their shopping cart was full of the same kind of stuff that other people had as they outfitted their kids for college.
It was hard not to notice that Jim was at least as excited about moving into his new home as the would-be university students were about moving away from home.
In retrospect, the move provides an important reminder about making the most of current opportunities because life is short and time is fleeting. No one would have believed that we would be back within eight weeks to say a final goodbye and pack up his new place.
HAMIOTA -- Elaine flew back to Manitoba just before Graham and Ang's wedding to help her dad move from the big white house to a retirement apartment just across the street from the regional hospital. It was a one bedroom at the end of single story building, giving Jim three external walls to line with petunias and begonias (which he already had in place by the time Paul arrived a few days later).
By then, Elaine and Jim had gone shopping in Brandon to get fresh housewares for the new digs. There were apartment-sized blinds, utensils, laundry baskets and organizers to get. Their shopping cart was full of the same kind of stuff that other people had as they outfitted their kids for college.
It was hard not to notice that Jim was at least as excited about moving into his new home as the would-be university students were about moving away from home.
In retrospect, the move provides an important reminder about making the most of current opportunities because life is short and time is fleeting. No one would have believed that we would be back within eight weeks to say a final goodbye and pack up his new place.
Parliamentary Decorum: Behaving Badly
OTTAWA -- Paul served as the co-host for a North American visit by British MP Ian Liddell-Grainger, who heads a parliamentary tax group in the United Kingdom. The trek stretched from San Franscisco to Ottawa, where the pair were given passes to the Speaker's Gallery for Question Period. Given the breakdown in parliamentary decorum on display that day, the sharp elbows of the fall election campaign or the recriminations around the opposition parties' scheme to create a coalition government should not have been a surprise.
(While in Canada, Paul was also able to get caught up with his friend and former academic advisor, Dr. Dorothy Zolf McDonald.)
(While in Canada, Paul was also able to get caught up with his friend and former academic advisor, Dr. Dorothy Zolf McDonald.)
Would You Like Kielbasa at Midnight with that Wedding Fundraiser?
WINNIPEG -- As first reported in a December 2007 post, Paul's nephew became engaged late last year to the former Angela Sawatsky. Graham and Ang tapped the uniquely prairie practice of holding a fund raising Social in anticipation of their summer wedding. It was a crisp Winnipeg evening (read: bone chillingly cold for those who were no longer acclimatized to Manitoba winters) but the room was teaming with the couple's friends and drenched with music played back from a pair of dueling iPods.
While back in Manitoba, Paul also had the chance to go with his dad to the semi final of the 2008 Tim Horton Brier, the Canadian men's curling championship, which was being hosted in Winnipeg that week.
Paul managed to get back for the shindig through a happy coincidence. He had a pair of back-to-back bicoastal business trips over two weeks that book ended the social weekend. Both came with connecting flights in Chicago. The prospect of staying in the central time zone brought with it the opportunity to avoid a Chicago-Seattle flight - twice. Add to that the incomprehensible fare structure of the airlines that, by adding a trip up to Winnipeg, brought the price down by a third.
While back in Manitoba, Paul also had the chance to go with his dad to the semi final of the 2008 Tim Horton Brier, the Canadian men's curling championship, which was being hosted in Winnipeg that week.
Paul managed to get back for the shindig through a happy coincidence. He had a pair of back-to-back bicoastal business trips over two weeks that book ended the social weekend. Both came with connecting flights in Chicago. The prospect of staying in the central time zone brought with it the opportunity to avoid a Chicago-Seattle flight - twice. Add to that the incomprehensible fare structure of the airlines that, by adding a trip up to Winnipeg, brought the price down by a third.
Six Boxes
OLYMPIA -- Kevin Kawamoto, who entered the Ph.D. program at the University of Washington with Paul in 1992, came for a much anticipated (but often delayed) visit. What we did not know when he arrived was that he was on a farewell-to-the-mainland tour.
We took the boat out for a February cruise around the lake - funny, we had it to ourselves. The conversation picked up where we had left it last time and, with his imminent move, there was more than a little speculation about what comes next.
Dr. Kawamoto has accepted an appointment as an Associate Professor at the University of Hawai'i in Honolulu. The move marks a return to the university where he earned his undergraduate degree and is within a couple of hours of his family home.
We're looking at maps of the islands in a whole new light.
We're also looking at our allegedly reformed pack rat habits in a new light too. In describing the final preparations for his move next week, Kevin matter-of-factly said he was pretty sure he would have to use a sixth box. You see, everything he valued would not fit in just the five standard-sized filing boxes he had hoped to use.
Merry Christmas and a contented new year.
Peace and Grace,
- Paul and Elaine
We took the boat out for a February cruise around the lake - funny, we had it to ourselves. The conversation picked up where we had left it last time and, with his imminent move, there was more than a little speculation about what comes next.
Dr. Kawamoto has accepted an appointment as an Associate Professor at the University of Hawai'i in Honolulu. The move marks a return to the university where he earned his undergraduate degree and is within a couple of hours of his family home.
We're looking at maps of the islands in a whole new light.
We're also looking at our allegedly reformed pack rat habits in a new light too. In describing the final preparations for his move next week, Kevin matter-of-factly said he was pretty sure he would have to use a sixth box. You see, everything he valued would not fit in just the five standard-sized filing boxes he had hoped to use.
Merry Christmas and a contented new year.
Peace and Grace,
- Paul and Elaine